When, where and how to vote in the Nov. 2 election

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Bonner County voters cast their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 2 at their regular polling locations, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

The last day to request absentee ballots passed on Oct. 22, but early voting is open through Friday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at the County Elections Office (1500 Highway 2, Suite 124). Voters may register at the polls or go to voteidaho.gov to register.

Depending on where they live, county residents will have a broad slate of candidates to consider, though many of them running unopposed.

In Sandpoint, eight candidates are vying for three city council seats, while Dover residents will choose between two candidates for mayor and from among four candidates for two seats on the city council. Priest River voters have two mayoral candidates to consider and three council members running unopposed.

In the Lake Pend Oreille School District, two candidates are opposed for a Zone 2 trustee seat, while Zones 3 and 5 are unopposed. In the West Bonner County School District, there are three candidates for Zone 2 and two for Zone 4.

Clark Fork has an unopposed mayoral race, along with two council members also running unopposed. In East Hope, three council candidates are running unopposed, as well as two candidates for the Hope City Council. The Ponderay race will see two council candidates running unopposed.

In addition are a slate of unopposed commission candidates in the Coolin-Cavanaugh Bay, East Priest Lake, Northside, Sam Owen, Spirit Lake, Timberlake and West Pend Oreille fire districts, as well as one unopposed board seat in the Selkirk Recreation District.

Finally, Sandpoint residents will be asked to vote yes or no on a proposed 1% local option sales tax, intended to raise an estimated $13 million over seven years to support the completion of Parks and Recreation Master Plan projects and work on the priority sidewalk network. 

For more information on candidates in contested races in Sandpoint, Dover and LPOSD, as well as the 1% LOT ballot measure, find profiles on sandpointreader.com. For a recording of the Oct. 19 candidate forum, hosted by the Reader, Keokee, KRFY 88.5 FM and the Selkirk Association of Realtors — with technical assistance and venue provided by the East Bonner County Library Sandpoint branch — go to bit.ly/ReaderForum.

For all other election information — including sample ballots, polling places and more — go to bonnercountyid.gov, click on the “Departments’’ menu at the top of the page and select “Elections.” To contact Bonner County Elections directly, call 208-255-3631, email [email protected] or visit the office at 1500 Highway 2, Suite 124.